Emily Blunt and Hugh Jackman on What Makes a Great Musical

During their chat for Variety‘s Actors on Actors, Emily Blunt (“Mary Poppins Returns”) and Hugh Jackman (“The Front Runner,” “The Greatest Showman”) talked about what makes a great movie musical.

“I think it’s a very difficult balance between a story and a narrative that’s moving and profound that people can get on board with,” Blunt said. “You do want the idea of a spectacle so that people can be pulled into a world that they want to breathe the same air as.”

“Look at the story of ‘Grease’ and the songs,” Jackman added. “That’s a hard thing to pull off.”

Maggie Gyllenhaal has done enough sex scenes in her career to know when to say no, but for actresses who are just starting out, she says an intimacy expert might be the best solution. “I have done so many sex scenes in my life; I have learned how to protect myself. I’m good with it. [...]

During their conversation for Variety‘s Actors on Actors, Regina King (“If Beale Street Could Talk”) and Maggie Gyllenhaal (“The Kindergarten Teacher”) talked about how they choose roles and how Hollywood has changed for women.

“I had been told — Rob Marshall, who just directed [Emily Blunt] in ‘Mary Poppins,’ said, ‘When you work with her, you’ll see,'” John Krasinski said during his interview for Variety‘s “Actors on Actors,” of directing his wife in “A Quiet Place.” “And I said, I know, I’m her biggest fan…and he said, ‘Nope, not until [...]